New Beginnings
by Morning Sunrise 656
Summary: There is always time to begin again. Ali is just a normal girls until she meets a stranger with scissors for hands. Will they become friends, or more? Can they both stand when the world trys to tear them apart? Please read and review!
1. Fairy Tale Adventures

Ali was an average person. Normal, really. She had curly brown hair and hazel eyes. She was of average height. She lived in the suburbs of a small town with her parents. That pastel world where everything was orderly and seemed untouched. Yes, there wasn't anything really strange about Ali. She was an ant in a colony of millions.

That is, until she met a strange man with scissors for hands...

The day it happened was an ordinary one. Ali was in her room, her nose burried deep within the pages of a novel. This one about a journey somewhere high in the mountains. She wished she could go there. Anywhere really. Anywhere but here. Ali had lived in the suburbs her whole life, and she just wanted out. Even if it was only for a while.

Her mother, Theresa, called her from her room to eat lunch. She dog-earred her page and put her book down reluctantly. She met Theresa in the kitchen where a sandwhich was waiting for her. "There you go, sweetie", her mother said setting the sandwhich down in front of her.

Theresa was a good mother. She was kind, caring, and a good role model. Her hair was blond and usually kept in a loose bun. Her eyes were tired, anyone could tell that. Another thing anyone could tell was that she cared for her family. She'd be nothing without them.

Ali picked up her sandwhich and bit into it after saying a quick thanks to her mother. after the sanwhich was gone, Ali put her ploate in the sink and ventured back into her room. She stopped at her window and threw back the curtains. She pulled up the panell of glass that was blocking her from the fresh air outside. Once the glass was removed, Ali stuck her head outside and starred up the street.

Pastel houses and pristine lawns met her eyes. Disgusted, she looked further up the street, where the road ended at the hill. Her eyes wandered up the long, winding path to the mansion that was settled on the peak of the hill. It loomed over the town. Menacing, almost. It reminded her of a crow, no, a vulture perched upon a limb, prepared to snatch up its prey.

Often Ali thought of going up there. Everyday she caught herself thinking of it,often more that once. That mansion was questionable though, wasn't it? After all, did anyone live up there? Ali was sure no one did. Well, the whole place looked as if it would collapse at any second anyway. Who would be crazy enough to live up there?

When Ali thought of that, she often pictured herself up there. She wanted to go up there more than anything else. She had wandered to the base of the hill before, ready to make the climb, but something always stopped her. It was like some invisible force was pulling her back, telling her she musn't cross that line.

It was like she couldn't bring herself to break the rules. No one hadn't ever told her not to go up there, but still, there seemed to be some unspoken truce. Whatever it was. Was she afraid? She told herself she wasn't. But in all honesty, she really didn't know. All she knew was that she had to go up there.

She pulled her head back through the window and sat down on her bed. She tossed her bookon her nightstand. There would be time to read that later. She grabbed her tennis shoes and pushed her feet into them. She laced them up quickly, and headed downstairs.

She was at the door when Theresa asked, "Going out?"

"Uh... Yeah. I'm going to Tess's. Is that okay?" She didn't like lying to her mother, it made her uncomfortable.

"Sure. Just don't get back too late. I'll have dinner ready at seven."

Theresa waved her off as she headed down the street. But she didn't stop at Tess's house. In fact, she walked right by it, not even slowing down to see if she could catch sight of her long-time friend.

She and Tess had been friends since the fourth grade when she had offered to share her lunch with Tess, since she had forgotten hers. Besides, she didn't like meatloaf anyway. Tess was a great friend, nonetheless. She had been there for Ali when her grandmother died two years ago. She had been there for her when her first and only boyfriend had broken up with her for Lesha Carter. Tess was great and always would be.

Once past Tess's house, she made for the hill. It wasn't really much of a walk, maybe half of a mile at the most. Ali wandered what her parents would say if they could see her now. Would she be grounded? Would she have any privleges taken away? She wasn't sure what punishment she would endure if caught, but the thought of breaking this one unspoken rule made her excited. This time she would make sure she didn't back away from the hill. She would go up it. Now or never.

Before she knew it, she found herself at the base of the hill. She starred up at the mansion. It was much bigger than it appeared to be from her bedroom window. She took a deep breath and started up the path.

"All right", she said aloud, smiling to herself. This would be an adventure.


	2. The Mansion's Keeper

Ali made it to the top of the hill in no time at all. She was actually surprised she'd done it. She was standing in front of the one thing that was exciting about this town. The one place that captured her attention most.

She reached out and took hold of the cast-iorn gate that was attached to a rickety fence that enclosed the mansion. It was rusted over, which made it hard to push open, but Ali did it. She brushed the rust off of her hands, and stepped inside.

Before the black mansion was a lush garden. It was ironic really. How could such a lovely place be seated in front of a looming, black, gothic mansion? It was unreal. Something out of _The Secret Garden _perhaps.

Ali was awed at it's beauty. There were countless roses that must have been tended to daily, but by who? There were beutiful hedges sculpted to look like diferent animals. But who could have done this? Surely not someone from the town.

She walked underneath the hedge sulpture of a stag, and made her way toward the mansion. The garden was nice, but that wasn't why she was there.

The door leading to the inside of the mansion wasn't unlocked, so Ali shoved it open. She wasn't much surprised by how the inside of the mansion looked. Everything seemed to be covered in a thick layer of dust. What seemed like machines were scattered about the room. Pieces of forgotten equipment lay on the floor, untouched for years.

Ali ambled over to a machine that had... where thoes metal legs?... suspened above it. She inspected the legs. Looking at them, she realized they had cookie cutters for feet. How odd. She walked down to the other end of the machine, passing more of the legs. On the other end of the strange machine was a type of oven. Was this a cookie-making machine?

The idea was mad, but then again, wasn't this whole place?

She picked a small device up from a nearby table. It seemed to be several different pairs of scissors connected to make a hand, or something like one. Ali touched the blade of the outer pair, pricking her finger.

"Ow." She looked at her index finger as small drops of blood leaked from the wound. "Dang it." She wiped the blood from her finger and continued on.

She walked up an old staircase, careful to hold on to the railing. There was no telling if these stairs could support much weight. Finally, she was on the second story. It was just as dusty, if not dustier than the first. There was a shattered window in the wall opposite her. There was some odd red stain on the glass. What could that be from?

Ali went forward and spotted a small bed laying on the floor. It's matress was made completely of straw. Ali couldn't help but think about how uncomfortable it must be. Beside the bed was some sort of collage. Pictures and newspaper clippings were pasted onto the wall. By the looks of it, the collection must have been growing for some. But there was that question again. Who could have done it?

She read some of the clippings, finding some that were not even over three weeks old. Mmmm. It made her wonder... She fingered with a photo that was becoming loose when she heard the unmistakable sound of a footstep behind her.

"Hello", she yelled through the room, hearing her voice echo off the bare walls. "Hello? Is anyone there?"

No one could have been there. There weren't any signs of life except for the bed and collage. And the garden. Could someone really be living here? The idea scarred her. She could have intruded into someone's home, and that someone could be prepared to kill her at any second.

Ali remembered a story she had heard when she was only in second grade. It was a story that had somehow been forgotten for nine years, but now returned to her suddenly.

The story was about a monster who lived in the mansion on the hill. The monster watched all the people in town, waiting for one brave soul to venture up to his lair. And when the person entered his home, the monster would kill them, without thinking twice about it.

Of course, Ali never really believed that story. She had even told the kid who had told her the story there was no such thing as monsters. And that story made her notice the mansion, didn't it? She couldn't ever remember taking notice of it before that day.

Ali shuddered. What if the story was real. What if there was a monster here? A killer? She was almost afraid to turn around, but she did. And when she did, she heard a strange snipping sound. She backed against the wall. The snipping was just outside the door. Did it know she was here? Had it been watching her?

She wanted to disappear. She wanted it all to be a dream. And when the maker of the snipping sound came through the door, she couldn't even scream.

She could see that the monster was no monster but a man. She saw a glint of metal in the beam of sunlight that was shining through the window. She wanted to scream, badly, because she knew what that metal glint was from. They were that strange scissor contraption she had found downstairs. They were an exact copy. And they were attached to the ends of his arms where his hands should be.

He moved each pair of scissors back and forth like fingers. But that was all Ali could see. The rest of him was hidden in the shadows. But they scared her. She though of the pricked finger and of all the damage they could really do. Every fiber of her being wanted to run, but she was planted firmly to the floorboards.

The man stepped into the sunlight. He was as pale as a sheet with multiple scars covering his face. His hair was inky black and was piled on his head in a wirey fashion. He wore what looked like a leather suit.

Ali swallowed hard. The man was watching her closely. She knew she had to run. She just had to. If she didn't no one would ever find her. Her mother thought she was at Tess's!

So she ran. She was nearly out of the room when she fell over a loose board in the floor. The man came toward her as she scrambled to get up. Once she managed to get to her feet, she fled the room, ran down the stairs, and escaped through the garden. She slammed the gate behind her and took off down the hill, fear still pulsing through her veins.

But if Ali would have stayed just a moment longer in that room with the man, she would have heard him whisper in a soft voice, "Please. Don't go."


	3. Better Safe Than Sorry

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Finally back home, Ali rushed up to her room. She sat on her bed, still breathing heavily from running so far and long. She was still quite scared and adrenaline was coursing through her body.

What was that... that man doing in the mansion? Why on Earth did he have scissors for hands? He could have killed her!

Ali burried her face in her hands. It would be fine with her if she never left her house again. Her room for that matter. She couldn't remember a time in her life when she had been so frightened.

She tried to shut what had happened out of her mind, but she couldn't stop seeing the image of thoes scissors. It wasn't only scary, it was rather grotesque, to her. Why would anyone have scissors for hands? A crazed maniac, that's who.

She wondered if she should tell anyone. Tess? Her parents? No, not Tess. She would want to see it for herself, and well, Ali wouldn't be going up there again. She didn't really think telling her parents was a good idea either. After all, she would probably be grounded for life if they ever found out.

Should she tell the police? They could search the mansion, find the man, arrest him, and lock him up. But that didn't seem right. He hadn't actually done anything, had he? all he had really done was scare her and get her blood flowing. That was no crime.

Finally she decided she would keep the secret of the mansion to herself, at least for now. She would probably eventually tell Tess, anyway.

Ali was still shaken up when her mother called her down to dinner. She ventured downstairs and took her place next to her father, Allen, who had only just gotten home from work. He was a tall man with dark brown hair. He had many laugh lines from smiling.

"How was work, dear", Theresa asked her husband.

He swallowed his chosen piece of mear before answering, "Same as usual. I think Jim's going to hire a few more people to help out with construction." Allen worked mainly on construction sites, making sure the main gas lines were secure.

Theresa nodded and went on eating her dinner. Ali pushed her English peas around on her plate, npt in the mood to eat at the moment. She piled her meat up beside her peas to make it look as if she had eaten something and asked to be excused.

When she was released from the table, she went back to her room. She looked out her still open window. She spotted the mansion easily. It seemed to loom over the town even more in the dark.

The more she looked at the huge house on the hill, the more she wondered about the strange man. She wanted to know how long he had been up there. She wanted to know if he was alone. And soon she realized something. She realized she wanted to go back.

She didn't understand why. She didn't really know why she wanted to. Especially after she had been so afraid. Who would want to go back to that place? But the more she questioned it and the more she tried to talk herself out of it, the more she found herself wanting to go.

It was the same invisible force that had been repelling her, only now it was pulling her in.

But what if she got hurt? What if she was fatally injured? Well, that would just have to be something she would have to risk.

That night she fell asleep thinking of the mansion and it's inhabitant.

Ali awoke the next morning to the sound of knocking. She went downs stairs, still clad in the clothes she had slept in, to answer the door.

"What are you still doing in your pajamas! It's ten thirty", Tess yelled as soon as the door was open.

Ali rubbed her eyes and mumbled, "Well, I didn't know we had anything to do today."

"We don't, but still...", Tess answered.

Ali managed a laugh and plopped down in the armchair closest to her. Tess sat on the sofa across from her. "How long have you been up", Ali asked drowsily.

"Five." That was just like Tess. She was an early riser, but was late to every event she was invited to or planned to attend. That also included school, but it was summer at the time, so she didn't have to worry much until next year.

"Uh huh. Well, I'm going back to bed", Ali staggered out of her chair and made toward the stairs, knowing Tess wouldn't let her escape that easily.

"Oh no your not. Come on." Tess grabbed Ali's arm and pulled her up the stairs. Once she had put on a tee shirt and jeans, she joined Tess back in her room.

"So, I heard there are going to be a bunch of campers at the lake this weekend. We should go. I bet there'll be some cute guys there", Tess said with a smile. "We could find you a summer boyfriend. Not to mention one for yours truly."

"No", Ali said tossing a pillow at her friend. In her opinion, Tess was absolutely boy crazy. If there was a new boy in town, Tess would be the first to know. "You can go, I'm staying here."

"You're going to turn into a hermit. Do you know that?"

"All well, I guess. Besides, I need to finish my book." Ali picked up her forgotten novel which had fallen onto the floor. The cover was bent so she straightened it back out.

"Haven't you already read that?"

"No, I haven't. And I have other things planned anyway."

"Like what?"

Ali bit her lip. She was actually planning to go back to the mansion this weekend, just one day away. Could she tell Tess? It didn't feel right not telling her. They had always told each other everything. What would Tess say anyway? She probably wouldn't even believe her.

"Just stuff."

"Just stuff, huh? Oh, I see. Stuff", Tess said crossing her arms. "Like..."

"Well, I think we are going to see my great aunt in the nursing home this weekend. It's her birthday", Ali lied. She silently hoped Tess couldn't see the truth behind the lies. But she would be visiting someone. Maybe not her great aunt whose birthday was eight months from now, but definetly a someone. A petentually dangerous someone.

Tess seemed satisfied, though. "Oh, well we have all summer. Don't we? And besides, I still may go. Who knows?"

Ali let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding. Thank goodness Tess didn't know her great aunt.

After Tess had left Ali's house, it was nearly three. Ali went to the kitchen and took an apple from the fruit bowl on the counter. Her mother was working that day, so she had to fend for herself. She poured a glass of lemonaide and sat down.

After the apple was gone, and the glass drained ali did her best to finish what was left of her novel. It didn't work, though. She kept thinking of the next day. She was really going back up there. She wished she could somehow prepare herself if worse came to worst, but she wasn't really sure how. How could you defend yourself with built in weapons?

She planned to leave out early that morning, while both her parents were still working. That night after dinner, before crawling under her covers, Ali took a piece of paper and a pencil. She was going to write a note, just in case she didn't come back.

The note read:

Mom & Dad, I've gone to the mansion on the hill. If I don't come back, look for me there. -Ali

Once she had finished writing the note, she carefully hid it in her sock drawer. She didn't really think she wouldn't come back. But better safe than sorry, right? After all, she didn't know anything about this man, but she planned to.


End file.
